Key Words and Meanings - Year 13 Sociology

• Crime & Deviance and Media

  Anomie	A sense of normlessness. Durkheim argues this arises when there is rapid social change, because existing norms become unclear or outdated.
  The dark figure of crime	The difference between the official statistics and the 'real' rate of crime.
  Master status	A controlling identity that overrides all of ones other identities. For example, the label of 'criminal' will override an individuals other labels such as 'mother' or 'neighbour'.
  White collar crime	A crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation.
  Status frustration	This is the result of the inability of those in the lower classes to achieve mainstream success goals by legitimate means such as educational achievement.
  Global conglomerates	This refers to companies that consist of a lot of different businesses/interests that may operate on an international level. Many media companies have businesses across different countries.
  Cultural imperialism	Cultural imperialism suggests that power and influence is imposed by mass media and cultural products rather than through force or arms.
  Cultural Homogenisation	The idea that local cultures are killed off by globalisation and the whole world becomes the same; where people abandon folk cultures in favour of mass produced and global culture.
  Cultural hybridisation	An optimistic view that local cultures, global cultures and alternative cultures have mixed, sometimes creating something new (a hybrid culture), sometimes existing side-by-side as cultural diversity.
  Hegemony	The economic, social and cultural domination of one group over another.

• Crime & Deviance and Media

  Relative deprivation	This refers to how deprived someone feels in relation to others, or compared with their own expectations.
  Hegemonic Masculinity	The idea that there is a particular view of masculinity. This is defined through work in the paid labour market, the subordination of women, heterosexism and the driven and uncontrollable sexuality of men.
  Underclass	The New Right concept of those who are at the lowest level of the class structure; a class below the working class with a separate deviant subculture and lifestyle.
  Chivalry thesis	The view that the criminal justice system is biased in favour of women, so that they are less likely than men to be charged, convicted or punished.
  Postmodernity	Postmodernists argue that society has moved into a new era of postmodernity - a globalised, media saturated society, where culture is fragmented, ever-changing and individuals change their identities through consumption on signs and brands.
  Metrosexual male	Refers to men who take care of their appearance in terms of consuming toiletries and fashion products and who are unafraid to express emotional vulnerability.
  Symbolic annihilation	This describes the way women are effectively left out of media discourse; their achievements are ignored or minimilised, their interests and pursuits trivialised and devalued.
  Institutional racism	Discrimination that is built into everyday workings of institutions such as schools, the criminal justice system and the media. It may be unconscious rather than deliberate, but is deeply ingrained.
  Stereotypes	Where generalisations or assumptions are made about particular groups. These can be created and reinforced by the media.
  Moral Panic	An over-reaction to a perceived problem where a group is labelled as a threat to society's values. The media create a key role in creating moral panics.

• Crime & Deviance and Media

  Globalisation	The idea that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected and that barriers are disappearing.
  Moral Panic	An over-reaction to a perceived problem where a group is labelled as a threat to society's values. The media create a key role in creating moral panics.
  Primary green crimes	Crimes that result directly from the destruction and degradation of the earths resources.
  Secondary green crimes	Crime that grows out f the flouting of rules aimed at preventing or regulating environmental disasters.
  State crime	Crime committed by, on behalf of, or with the complicity of governments or state agencies such as the police, armed forced or secret services.
  New media	Types of media that use digital technology such social media and the use of the internet.
  Imitation	The idea of people doing copycat actions based on things they have seen.
  Desensitisation	The idea that people cease to find violence shocking and wrong because they have been exposed to so much of it, through the media.
  False class consciousness	The state of not being aware of our true identity as exploited workers.
  Hypodermic Syringe Model	This model assumes that messages presented by the media are received directly and accepted by an audience.

• Crime & Deviance and Theory

  Surveillance	A monitoring of public behaviour for the purposes of population or crime control.
  Situational crime prevention	A pre-emptive approach to crime reduction that relies no on improving society or institutions, but simply on reducing opportunities for crime.
  Retributive justice	Punishment that is severe and cruel, and its motivation is purely expressive.
  Restitutive justice	When the response to crime is to repair the damage caused, for example through compensation - to restore things to how they were before the crime was committed.
  Transcarceration	The idea that individuals become locked into a cycle of control, shifting between difference carceral agencies during their lives.
  Value freedom	The idea that values should be kept out of research.
  Reflexivity	The situation in late or highmodern society where tradition and custom no longer guide our actions. As a result we are forced to become more reflexive - to constantly monitor, reflect and modify our actions.
  Verificationism	The idea that a theory can be proved true, simply by gathering evidence that confirms or verifies it.
  Falsification	According to Karl Popper this is the defining characteristic of science which consists of statements that can in principle be disproved unlike claims made in religion or theories such as Marxism.
  Objectivity	The absence of bias or preconceived ideas.

• Revision